William f



(No Model.)

W. F. BIDWELL. HORSE TAIL HOLDER.

N0. 424,458. Patented Apr. 1, 1890.

WITNESSES:

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM F. BIDW'ELL, OF TROY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ANDREIV L. CRAlVFORD, OF SAME PLACE.

HORSE-TAILYHOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 424,453, dated April 1, 1890.. I

Application filed December 2,1889. Serial No. 332,202. (No model.) i

i To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. BIDWELL, a resident of Troy, in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Horse-Tail-Holder Buttons; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, that will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several figures therein.

My invention relates to improvements in lioi'setail-holder buttons; and it consists of the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side edge View of my improved device as the same appears when held in use by a strap. Fig. 2 is an end edge view of the button detached. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section of the same, taken on the broken line 3 3 in Fig. 2. r Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the button in the position shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the same. Fig. 6 is an edge view showing modified form of construction, the button being riveted to the strap.

During the muddy season it is customary to fold the hair back upon the dock of a horses tail and secure it in such folded position by a cord or strap.

Great difficulty has been experienced in preventing the strap from slipping off from the tail, and various devices have been employed to prevent the loss of the strap.

The devices heretofore employed have either been such as were expensive and difficult of construction, or such as would cut and tear the hair or bruise and injure the dock of the tail, as metallic hooks.

My improved device consists of a button or stud having a flattened head A, connected by a shank B with the supporting baseplate O. The base-plate is provided with an aper= ture D, adapted to receive a strap E, having a buckle F, for fastening the strap around the folded tail.

. To apply the device to the tail the buttonhead is first inserted in between and under the hair, and the strap then buckled around the tail, thereby holding the button embedded in the folded-over hair, the button likewise serving to prevent the strap from slipping ofi.

Although I do not wish to be limited to any particular form or material for my improved 6o buttons, I prefer to make them of a soft fleXible material, as vulcanized rubber, and in substantially the form shown, the upper surface of the head, as seen in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, being convexed, likewise the upper surface of the base-plate,'as seen in Figs5.

The ends 0' of the base-plate covered by the strap may be lengthened beyond the portion immediately above the strap, to assist in bending the base-plate to conform to the curved surface of the tail, as seen in Fig. 1.

Any desired number of buttons may be employed upon a single strap; but one is generally sufficient.

The strap E may be of any desired width 7 5 adapted to enter the aperture in the baseplate.

It may be two cords or straps adapted to be inserted in two circular apertures in the baseplate, as indicated by the circular dotted lines D in Fig. 2.

It is obvious, therefore, that the buttons such as I have described may be made and sold as a new article of manufacture, adapted to receive an ordinary strap or cord-such as maybe at hand-and prevent the same from slipping off from a horses tail. V

The button-head, base-plate, and connecting-shank are all preferably molded in one integral piece of rubber. 0

I have shown a modified form of construction in Fig. 6, wherein the base-plate C of the button is secured to the strap by the rivets H, inserted through vertical apertures in the plate.

0 in Figs. 3 and 4.) In this form of con- (Indicated by the dotted lines as any known method may be employed. The strap or cord may be passed through the vertical end apertures in the base-plate. (Indicated by the dotted lines 0 in Fig. 3.)

It is essential that the head of the button or its shank should be made of pliable, freelyyielding material, lest the dock of the tail be chafed and made sore, and, preferably, that all the parts of the holder-button should be made pliable for the same reason, and for the further reason that they are not so likely to slip through or along the hairs of the tail. By molding the button in one integral piece it is more durable and more cheaply constructed.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As an improved article of manufacture,

a button adapted for use in holding the tail of a horse, having a pliable flattened head A, 20

2. The combination of the button having a 25 pliable flattened head A, a pliable base-plate having a strap-aperture, and a pliable head and plate connecting shank B, with a strap having a fastening device at its end, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day of November, 1889. WILLIAM F. BIDIVELL. Witnesses:

GEo. A. MosHER, W. H. HoLLIsTER, J r. 

